Simple sequence repeat (SSR)-based gene diversity in Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei

• Published in: Molecules and cells 2009, 27(2), , pp.237-241
• Main Authors: Song, H. (Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea), Hwang, J.H. (Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea), Myung, J.H. (Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea), Seo, H.S. (Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea), Yi, H.J. (Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea), Sim, H.S. (Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea), Kim, B.S. (Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul, Republic of Korea), Nierman, William C. (J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, MD, USA), Kim, H.N. (Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea), E-mail: [e-mail]
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AGENT PATHOGENE; Bacterial Proteins - classification; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Base Sequence; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Biotechnology; Burkholderia mallei; Burkholderia mallei - genetics; Burkholderia pseudomallei - genetics; Cell Biology; DNA, Bacterial; Genetic Variation; Genome, Bacterial; Life Sciences; Minisatellite Repeats; Molecular Sequence Data; ORGANISMOS PATOGENOS; PATHOGENS; phase variation; PSEUDOMONAS PSEUDOMALLEI; Sequence Alignment; simple sequence repeats; 생물학
• ISSN: 1016-8478; 0219-1032
• DOI: 10.1007/s10059-009-0029-8

Pathogens Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp) and Burkholderia mallei (Bm) contain a large number (greater than 12,000) of Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs). To study the extent to which these features have contributed to the diversification of genes, we have conducted comparative studies with nineteen genomes of these bacteria. We found 210 genes with characteristic types of SSR variations. SSRs with nonamer repeat units were the most abundant, followed by hexamers and trimers. Amino acids with smaller and nonpolar R-groups are preferred to be encoded by the variant SSRs, perhaps due to their minimal impacts to protein functionality. A majority of these genes appears to code for surface or secreted proteins that may directly interact with the host factors during pathogenesis or other environmental factors. There also are others that encode diverse functions in the cytoplasm, and this protein variability may reflect an extensive involvement of phase variation in survival and adaptation of these pathogens.